Sidewalk construction and maintenance currently falls entirely on individual property owners. It’s a policy designed to fail, with many people unable to afford sidewalks, and the quality of the pedestrian environment suffering as a result.

People pay with their lives. Between 2012 and 2015, drivers killed 13 people who were walking on streets with incomplete or missing sidewalks, according to an analysis of crash data by WalkDenver.

After several months of hearing testimony, on Wednesday Council members dug into the questions of how to structure a new citywide sidewalk policy and how to pay for it.

All of the options on the table start with the city actively assessing sidewalks like it assesses roads, rather than the current practice of waiting for complaints from residents before taking action. After identifying the locations that need construction or repairs, the burden would still legally lie with residents — but the city would help them pay for it.

Council members weighed three options:

Letting owners pay in installments over several years

Charging owners a “pre-paid” fee, similar to a sewage fee, possibly based on the size of the property’s frontage. The resident could opt out if she agreed to pay for a new sidewalk when the time came.

The city would use money from the general fund to subsidize the cost based on the household’s ability to pay.

Whatever policy the Council lands on, the city will have to identify new revenue streams to fix the sidewalk network. Getting good sidewalks across the city will cost upwards of $475 million, according to rough estimates from Public Works. Councilwoman Stacie Gilmore suggested asking voters to approve a tax hike for sidewalks via a ballot measure. Councilman Jolon Clark and Councilwoman Robin Kniech said a fee would be more appropriate.

“I think that this is an important public piece of infrastructure, and we don’t go out and ask folks if they believe we should have a sewer system or… a police force,” Kniech said. “Individuals may disagree, but we, collectively as a city, have decided that those are pieces [we need].”

The breakdown of Denver sidewalk conditions, according to estimates from Public Works. Image: Denver City Council

A general obligation bond, Kniech said, is also a possibility. The city could take care of a big chunk of missing sidewalks on city-owned land with that money. About 64 miles of missing sidewalks abut parks and parkways.

WalkDenver and other pedestrian advocates have called on the city to take legal responsibility for sidewalks like it does with roads. But concerns about liability may scuttle that idea. Several members said a meeting in executive session with City Attorney David Broadwell scared them off. Broadwell told horror stories of Los Angeles, which agreed to spend $1.3 billion on sidewalks over 30 years after poor conditions prompted a lawsuit under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

“If the city took over full responsibility for the sidewalks, presumably their liability would be similar to what it currently is for roadways, and they have figured out how to manage that risk in a reasonable manner,” Locantore said. “While L.A. is always held up as a cautionary tale, other cities such as Austin have successfully taken over responsibility for sidewalks without a major lawsuit, because they have been proactive in dedicating funding for sidewalks.”

Taking legal responsibility would be nice, Locantore said, but it’s not the ultimate goal. Finding a secure and sustainable funding source to treat pedestrian infrastructure as an essential part of the transportation network — especially in low-income neighborhoods — is what Denver needs most.

“We’ve already decided this has to be done,” Kniech said. “I think what we should be clear with the public about is how, not whether.”

It’s ridiculous that Denver does not have a decent sidewalk infrastructure for its citizens. Every time I push my son’s stroller around my neighborhood I am forced to walk in the street with him hoping we don’t get run over. I can’t even begin to imagine how someone disabled feels trying to get around on Denver’s sidewalks.

red123

What a joke of an excuse. They are already afraid of being held liable for ADA violations which is why they are running around town installing curb ramps on every corner. Most of which still aren’t technically ADA compliant. Last time I checked curb ramps are still a piece of the sidewalk.

That’s also a ridiculous defense strategy. Well we knew we had a bunch of non ADA compliant sidewalks which were so we decided not to assume responsibility instead of doing the right thing. The old turn a blind eye defense.

Honestly, I think it’s ludicrous that homeowners are responsible for anything about the sidewalks – this should be the city’s responsibility, just as it is for roads and alleys. I’d gladly pay a bit more in property taxes to have a city with decent sidewalks!

mckillio

Can you imagine if you were responsible for the road in front of your property? Especially if your property abuts a huge road like Federal? People would lose their minds but for some reason sidewalks get a pass.

garbanzito

i was surprised to learn that even New York City requires property owners to maintain adjacent sidewalks:

Does anyone remember when neighbors could sign a petition to request that sidewalks be repaired or replaced or installed in the first place???? That was in the 70’s-80’s. Where did that idea disappear to?

garbanzito

there was a program in the mid 2000s, can’t recall the name, and it may have been targeted at specific neighborhoods; the city had a fund for it and it required half the neighbors on your block to request it — would fix/replace/install all the sidewalks on the block; i believe that fund was a victim of the recession

fpfrainaguirre

My husband and I bought a house in NW Denver in 1982. Shortly after we arrived, we became aware of the sidewalk program for inner city neighborhoods. It was an alley to alley program. Since there were only two houses between two alleys, we walked around the corner to the next alley on shoshone and also on Quivas, I believe. We presented our proposal for sidewalk improvements to a special city committee and were awarded the money to do our sidewalks. Since the city is so afraid of carrying the liability, perhaps they got around it by having neighbors get signatures. It seems that the city could definitely set up such a program again. Another question–Who has the liability for the handicap cuts at each corner? At first, one needed to request them. Now it appears to me that these cuts are being constructed all over the city. The city certainly has enough money at this time with with the increase in property taxes.

Chris

We have a great need for a better sidewalk network. I would prefer the city took over. The current options don’t see good enough – but one thing is clear – having the city be responsible about the state the sidewalks are in are important. With that information we can do better at fixing the ones deficient or not in standard. We got some work to do and you should email, call or meet up with your council person.

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